Hyderabad: TiE Hyderabad organised the TiE Women Roadshow at T-Works in Raidurgam on Thursday to promote women entrepreneurship and invite applications for the seventh edition of TiE Women 2026.
More than 100 aspiring women entrepreneurs from different backgrounds attended the TiE Women Roadshow. The programme aimed to create awareness about TiE Women, a global initiative that supports women founders through mentorship, training, networking, visibility and investor access.
TiE Hyderabad said applications were open for TiE Women 2026 from women entrepreneurs across Telangana. The last date for applications is May 10, 2026. The programme is targeting 200 applicants through statewide outreach efforts.
Murali Kakarla, President of TiE Hyderabad, said language should not become a barrier for women entrepreneurs. He said women founders would be allowed to pitch in Telugu for the first time in the contest. He also announced special Telugu knowledge-sharing and pitching sessions to encourage wider participation.
Kakarla clarified that there was no entry fee for participation in the TiE Women programme. He urged women founders not to ignore simple ideas from daily life and described TiE Hyderabad as a launchpad for startups.
TiE Women Roadshow expands to Tier-2 cities
Dr Murali Bukkapatnam, Immediate Past Chairman of the Global Board of Trustees, said entrepreneurship remained incomplete without women’s participation. He said women must actively contribute to the nation’s GDP.
TiE Hyderabad announced plans to conduct TiE Women Roadshow events in Tier-2 Telangana cities, including Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam. Shanthala Veigas, Senior Director at TiE Hyderabad, said the expanded outreach followed the success of last year’s roadshow in Nizamabad.
Ankit Sanjay Shah, Committee Chair for TiE Women, described the programme as a flagship global initiative working with more than 60 TiE chapters worldwide. He said TiE Hyderabad had mentored over 600 women entrepreneurs and provided structured mentorship support to more than 100 founders over the years.
Shah said each participating TiE chapter would select one entrepreneur for the Regional Global Pitch Competition later this year in India. He added that the programme focused on empowering women founders through mentorship, investor connections and entrepreneurial development activities.
TiE Women Roadshow highlights startup support
Murali Kakarla said last year’s winner, Sowmya Darapaneni, founder of Avinya Neurotech, was featured on the TiE50 and TGS100 global startup lists. TiE Women Hyderabad has engaged over 600 women entrepreneurs and facilitated more than $352,000 in equity-free grants.
MV Reddy of the TiE Women 2026 Committee explained the eligibility criteria for the pitching contest. He said startups must be founded or co-founded by women, with women holding at least 33 per cent equity. The startup must also be registered after January 1, 2019, and should be less than 10 years old.
Reddy said the startups should be actively raising funds, while idea-stage ventures would not qualify for the contest. However, women entrepreneurs and aspiring founders at any stage could participate in TiE Women sessions and events.
A panel discussion titled “Future is Female” was also held during the event. Deepa Pulipati, Vijayalakshmi Raghavan, Ankit Shah and Shanthala Veigas participated in the discussion.